“What
is truth?” Pilate famously asked Jesus in Gospel writer John’s version of
Jesus’ trial. Jesus had just informed the Roman governor of Judea, “For this I
was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone
who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
This
exchange came to mind as three recent New
York Times articles began percolating in my head.
“Believing What You Don’t Believe” by professors of behavioral science Jane L. Risen and
A. David Nussbaum reports on an experiment in which participants were
instructed to label one bowl of sugar “sucrose” and an identical bowl as
“sodium cyanide (poison).” Despite the fact that the persons themselves chose
which to label, they nonetheless resisted using sugar from the bowl labelled
poisonous.
The
authors then apply the contrast between fast and slow thinking. The volunteers’
instinct (fast thinking) was not to touch the bowl labelled as poison, and
though their reason (slow thinking) might be used as a corrective to realize
the labels were by their own arbitrary designation, “People can simultaneously
recognize that, rationally, their superstitious belief is impossible, but
persist in their belief and their behavior.” They may even try to rationalize
their irrational, intuitive decisions.
The
article concludes with an illustration of how setting in place a policy in advance can avoid the pitfall
of following “a powerful but misguided intuition in a specific situation.”*
“How to Live a Lie” by philosophy professor William Irwin questions the “objective
reality” of God, free will, and
morality. He posits that many live by
moral or religious or ethical “fictionalism,” voluntarily or involuntarily, and
some may understand such fictionalism as “mythologically true,” while at the
same time knowing that these constructs are “not literally true.”
All
this touches my experience as I have grappled with the reality of God. I don’t
want to make the mistake of allowing superstition to determine my beliefs or
behavior while, at the same time, I believe myth speaks to the unknowable (or
not yet known) in human experience.
The
articles converge for me as I consider that setting in place “policies” (as in the first article)
about God, morality, and free will can help civilization and us
personally.
The
Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, “God is love,” equal rights, the separation
of church and state, and belief in personal and corporate responsibility have contributed
to our culture in positive ways, for example.
But
is embracing such policies finding the truth, or rationalization, a kind of
mind-game?
“The Light Beam Rider” by biographer Walter Isaacson celebrates the 100th
anniversary of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Einstein, he observes,
was able to advance science by beginning with what he called
“Gedankenexperimente,” “thought experiments,” or what we might colloquially
call daydreaming or mind-games.
The
author gives pertinent examples, and then concludes, “That ability to visualize
the unseen has always been the key to creative genius. As Einstein later put
it, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’”
This
week, helping with a spiritual formation course on Ignatian spirituality, I am
learning that imagination plays a key role in its understanding of prayer.
Could
all this mean that the imagination and thought experiments of mystics,
theologians, and ethicists are “key to creative genius” and of more value than “certain” knowledge about God?
Could
that be why the teachings of spiritual founders like Jesus have captured our
own spiritual imaginations?
*I
just learned last week on the fascinating PBS series, The Brain with (neuroscientist) David
Eagleman, that this is known as a “Ulysses’ contract.” Ulysses had himself
tied to the mast so he couldn’t sail his ship onto the rocks when he heard the
seductive sirens’ song.
Find out how you can support
this blog ministry by clicking here and scrolling down to the donate link below its description. Thank you!
Donations of $100 or
more will receive a gift signed copy of a first edition of my book, Henri’s Mantle: 100 Meditations on Nouwen’s Legacy.
Copyright © 2015 by Chris R. Glaser.
Permission granted for non-profit use with attribution of author and blogsite.
Other rights reserved.
Blessings,
ReplyDeleteWonderful post.
Brought to mind quotes from scientist Robert Jastrow;
"Consider the enormity of the problem. Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment. It asks: What cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter or energy into the universe? And science cannot answer these questions, because, according to the astronomers, in the first moments of its existence the Universe was compressed to an extraordinary degree, and consumed by the heat of a fire beyond human imagination. The shock of that instant must have destroyed every particle of evidence that could have yielded a clue to the cause of the great explosion."
"For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."
Grace and peace.
Excellent quotes/insights, Brian. Thanks for offering these. Glad you liked the post! warmly, Chris
Delete